Marketing Your Agritourism Enterprise

Marketing is essential to agritourism success.

Strong marketing requires careful planning and creative execution. The resources we have compiled here will help you rethink your approach to marketing, discover new marketing approaches, and ensure that great marketing is a priority in your business plan.

The 5 P's of Marketing - learn how to apply a popular marketing approach to your agritourism enterprise.

1. Word of mouth is huge! Current customers, friends, and family are often the best- and cheapest- promoters of your business. 

2. Use outlets in your community to your advantage. Host free and open community events to attract visitors to your farm, create press releases for local newspapers, and collaborate with nearby businesses to spread the word. 

3. Develop relationships with nearby hotels, information centers, restaurants, and other popular attractions to help attract out of town visitors. 

4. Your social media pages should be welcoming, clear, and attractive. Make sure your products, activities, hours, directions, and other key information is easy to find. Use social media to facilitate word of mouth marketing by offering opportunities for guests to promote you on social media. These opportunities can include staged picture sites, postcards for visitors to take home, and signage telling visitors what hashtag to use. 

A note on photos: 

A high-quality photo and/or videos are paramount when advertising your agritourism business. Images of your farm, and any events can help potential visitors envision what it is like to experience your farm.

Tip: if hosting events, make sure to include a photo release in your contract or registration form which would allow you to use photos in future marketing efforts. If you're hosting your own event, like a farm dinner, be sure to designate someone to take high quality photos. 

Information courtesy of NIFA Best Practices Guide- Marketing Basics